The Department for the Economy publishes Survey of Further Education College Leavers Report

Date published: 15 October 2019

This report presents findings from the fifth annual Northern Ireland Survey of Further Education College Leavers. Undertaken approximately six months after course completion, it provides a snapshot of the immediate added value to leavers of completing and achieving a regulated qualification in the FE sector during the academic year 2017/18.

Key points include:

• Over two-fifths (45.9%) of FE College leavers were in employment six months after achieving their 2017/18 qualification, up from 40.8% before their course began; conversely, the proportion in learning fell from 44% to 41.1%.
• When asked to give the most important reason for doing their course, FE College leavers were most likely to say: ‘I thought it would improve my career prospects’ (25.2%); ‘I was interested in the subject’ (17.6%); or ‘I wanted to go on to further / higher learning’ (14.6%).
• Two-thirds (66.3%) of leavers agreed that, were they to do their course again, they would be unlikely to study at a different FE College. Over half (51.6%) said they would be unlikely to study a different subject, while 52.9% would be unlikely to do a different kind of qualification.
• Employment rates for FE College leavers varied depending on subject area studied. The subject areas with the highest proportions of FE College leavers in full-time employment were ‘Construction, Planning and the Built Environment’ (55.4%), ‘Business, Administration and Law’ (52.8%) and ‘Education and Training’ (50%).
• The subject areas with the lowest proportions of FE College leavers in employment were ‘Social Sciences’ (7%), ‘History, Philosophy and Theology’ (11.1%) and ‘Science and Mathematics’ (18.3%), however, these subjects had some of the highest proportions of leavers in further full-time study.
• Typically, unemployment rates were lower for those qualifying at higher levels. Over one-quarter of those who had studied at Entry Level were unemployed (27.5%), in contrast to 14.5% of those who had studied at Level 1, 7% of those at Level 2 and 3.7% of those at Level 3.

This report, along with tables (including notes and technical details), an executive summary and infographic are available to download from the Department’s website.